The Parallel Universe

Having worked in Technology recruitment for over six years, I have spoken with literally thousands of Engineers. I am finding it increasingly common that priorities from five years ago are not the priorities of today. Sure, everybody wants to be fairly rewarded for the work that they do, but with competition for talent higher than ever, Engineers are more often than not in the fortunate position of being able to create the perfect conditions for their next role. 

I don't want to make sweeping generalisations on the entire Engineering market, but, remote work as a number one requirement is coming up more and more often than it ever has before. In my experience remote Engineers are almost always happy in their role and are the hardest to convince to consider a career switch.

I recently placed a Senior Ruby Engineer in to a 100% remote role. He is saving three hours a day on travel, but in addition to this, and in his eyes priceless, he is now home every day when his six year old son returns home from school.

Sounds great for the individual, but what about the manager and the business? Well, as I mentioned earlier, you are more than likely going to have an extremely happy, committed and motivated Engineer on your hands. But, in addition to this, I cannot think of a time whereby an Engineer whose number one priority was remote work was not open to considering a reduction in salary. Think about the money saved on the commute. The time saved on the commute. The additional time that can be spent with friends and family. You might be a business in NYC or San Francisco where it is no secret salaries are going up and up and will most likely continue to do so. Have you ever considered the financial benefits of hiring somebody outside of your current location?
 

I can give you a real-life example. We are currently working with a Senior Engineer who in NYC or San Francisco for arguments sake could command a salary of $200k or more. We have had partners request him for interview at that level, but money is not his main driver. His main driver is being able to live in the mountains, Vermont to be specific. And, he would be happy in Vermont with a salary of $160k. Think about that for a second. A reduction of $40k without any reduction in quality, output or code written. One might even argue that there will be an uplift in productivity given the candidate in question is working in his ideal working environment. This article certainly would.

Even if you aren't hiring at the moment, I would welcome your thoughts on remote/distributed workforce. Is it something you offer? What are the challenges you have faced (if any)? Is it something you don't currently offer due to concerns over collaboration for example? Is it something you personally would like if it was available? 

I look forward to hearing back from you and if you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this!